verlainemorrison96

'The man whose eyes were sore from obscenities / Kept on looking.' Like a e'en darker, more Bowie-inspired Joy Division, Bauhaus keeps it real but no less keeps it listenable. 'The Passion for Lovers' is an authentic gothic hit - almost an oxymoron - & tho Mask suffers from pretentiousness ('Of Lilies and Remains'), it's got humor too, especially instrumentally. I mean, I don't know how you could take Peter Murphy too seriously, who's goofily dark & darkly goofy at the same time. 'Dancing in catacombs / Dancing in tuxedo drag / Dancing in dark rooms / Dancing on all your flags / In the Vatican.' Q: do we think Robert Smith would e'er dare to dance? I don't, which is why I think Bauhaus is the more classic & necessary band. A very good record.

'Let me tell you a secret / I've been secretly banging your homeboy.' Is it so easy to call SZA the female Frank Ocean that I shouldn't bother? & yet, it's so true: the same sexually charged lyricism, the same urgency + ennui, the same vocal sophistication + almost childish inflections, & the fact that, like Channel Orange, Ctrl is the definition of a modern classic. After releasing My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010, Kanye would pass the torch to a trio of new hip-hop/r&b ambassadors: Frank, Kendrick, SZA. Tyler, Earl, & Acid Rap Chance are candidates, but those initial three are most crucial. I know I am neglecting Beyonce, but she comes into her own in the 2010s, meaning she'd been around for a while. Ctrl is lovely, smart, addictive, & pregnant.

I think Abbey Road is the Beatles' finest moment, but Revolver is probably my favorite, 'Yellow Submarine' notwithstanding. As an experimental work of rock, pop, folk, & classical, Revolver is both balanced & outlandish. It's the masterpiece of transition that Rubber Soul commenced. It's funny tho. People speak of the Beatles as if essentially all their songs were hits - that most people walk around w/ just about all their tunes permanently etched in their brains - but Revolver in particular is full of deep cuts, obscure cuts, strange numbers, & unhooky tracks. Out of the fourteen songs songs that make up the record, only 2-4 of 'em are instantly recognizable. This is why I love the album above all the rest actually. Revolver is the Beatles in detail.

I don't know why, but this shit sounds & looks & feels American, almost tho not quite Americana e'en. Britpop, not really, more like Brit pop country, or something along those lines. But it's not good Americana & well, that's b/c they're fucking Brits. In another way, this actually sounds like an American band doing their best imitation of Britpop & failing. What I mean to say is it is a big mess. I had hope w/ the first track - 'Natalie's Party' has a hook & a bounce I sorta kinda like - but as the record progresses, it stagnates utterly & spectacularly. In other words, I don't think I've heard potential collapse so rapidly. This is a bad album w/ bad songs, bad vocals, bad melodies, & bad vibes. Nowhere near The Stone Roses, The La's, Suede, Oasis. Shite.

'We're trying not to be sick again / & holding on for tomorrow.' Something 'bout Blur feels, tho not nauseatingly, unfavorably engineered. I mean this precisely - not 'manufactured,' as if Blur were merely a product of industry, but 'engineered.' That's part of their 'genius,' I guess: they're masters of a pop aesthetic they can lay claim to. 'Colin is a modern retard / W/ a love of bombast.' & w/ lyrics like that, they're a somewhat memorable bunch. But the songs on Modern Life Is Rubbish are ne'er very impressive or banging, e'en when the instrumentation hits hard & the melodies are palpable (e.g., 'Star Shaped'). Better than Parklife but not at the level of their self-titled gem, this is probably their most signature record, hence my ambivalence.